The present invention pertains to the mechanical latching art and, more particularly, to a latch for securing an overhead panel.
Numerous overhead panel type latches have been developed in the prior art. A common application for such latching devices is in the aircraft art wherein removable panels are secured in the overhead portion of the passenger compartment, thereby allowing ready access to aircraft control structure which is routed between the fuselage shell and the ceiling.
It is important in this application that the panels be held firmly in place and yet allow quick and easy removal and installation.
A typical latch mechanism used in this application is the spring-loaded rocker cam type latch. This latch is mounted on the removable panel and has a rocker cam which is biased by a spring such that a projection from the cam extends past the edge of the panel. When the panel is installed within the provided housing opening, the projecting rocker cam is depressed by the adjoining aircraft structure until the cam moves beyond the structure lip at which point, via the spring bias, the cam extension swings out past the adjoining structure lip to thereby support the panel. On panel removal, a pointed object is inserted through a provided hole in the ceiling where it engages the opposite end of the rocker cam causing the cam to rotate thereby moving the cam extension out of interference with the adjoining structure and releasing the panel.
A principal problem with the latches known to the prior art is that panel removal would oftentimes prove cumbersome. This is due to the fact that the rocker cam latches are constantly biased to the latched position, that is, the cam extensions are always biased in a direction assuring interference contact with adjoining structure. Thus, removal of a panel which has multiple latches requires that each and every latch be manually rotated and held in the released position until the panel is clear of adjoining structure, a process that proved to be tedious and time consuming.
A further problem with prior art overhead panel latches is that they transmitted vibration from adjoining structure to the overhead panel. As a result, overhead panels have been known to audibly vibrate during flight, creating passenger annoyance.